Machine for preparing fruit for canning.



PATENTED DEC. 8, 1903.

W. J. LATCHPORD. MACHINE FOR PREPARING FRUIT FOR GANNING.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 20. 1903.

a SHEETS-SHEET 1.

NO MODEL.

INVENTOR Tm 1N mm D on m: NORRIS warns co, Pnm'ou'mo wnsnmarun. n. c.

PATENTED DEC. -8, 1903.

No. 746.530. v

' W. J;- LATGHFORD.

MACHINE FOR PREPARING FRUIT FOR GANNING.

APRLIOATION FILED JAN. 20, 1903- I 3 8HEETS- SHEET 2.

INVENTUR I ATTORNEYS AWAM;

HO MODEL.

WITNESSES i PATENTED DEC. 8, 11903.

No. 746,530. j

, W. J.|LATOHFORD. MACHINE FOR PREPARING FRUIT. FOR 'GANNING,

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 20, 1903.

am T /N VENTUR W ATmR/vac 3 SHEETS-SHE "ummnmz H0 MODEL.

No. 746,530. Patented December 8, 1903.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM J. LATOI-IFORD, OF VANWERT, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF TW O-THIRDSROYALYPACKING COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORA- -TION OFILLINOIS.

MACHINE FOR PREPARINGFRUIT FOR CANNING.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 746,530, dated December8, 1903.

Application filed January 20 1903. Serial No. 139,735. (No model.)

To ctZZ whom zit may concern.- ranged to discharge steam onto the fruitfor Be it known that I',WILLIAM J.LATCHFORD, the purpose of looseningthe skin. The third a citizen of the United States,residing at Vanelement comprises cutters which divide the wert, in the county of VanWert and State skin by sectoral cuts at the side opposite the of Ohio,have'invented new and useful Imstem or core end, so that 'it may bepeeled 55 provements in Machines for Preparing Fruit 01f readily insections. The fourth element for Canning, of which the following is aspeciconsists of a group or system of Wipers which fication, referencebeing had to the accomdetach the skin insectoral portions accordingpanying drawings, forming a part thereof. to the cuts which have beenmade through [0 The purpose of this invention is to provide it, asdescribed, peeling it back from the top 60 an improved apparatus forhandling fruit, down to'the base or most adherent point. particularlytomatoes, through the steps pre- The fifth element is a system ofbrushes paratory to canning, performing automaticwhich attack the skinabout the base, comally the process of removing the skin. pleting theseparation of the skin from the It consists in the features ofconstruction flesh of the fruit. After passing through 65 set out in theclaims. these processes the skin being entirely de In the drawings,Figure 1 is a plan of my tached from the fruit is stripped or falls offmachine for the purpose stated. Fig. 2 is a the spindles as the conveyeron which the section at the line 2 2 on Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a spindlesaremounted passes around the drivsection at the line 3' 3 on Fig. 2. Fig."4 is a ing-wheels at. thedelivery end, and the fruit 70 detail sectionat the line 4 4 on Fig. 2. Fig. thus stripped ofi is receivedin anyconvenient 5 is a detail rear elevation of the means for receptacle orconveyer for taking it through communicating motion to the severalshafts. the remaining steps of the process.

Fig. 6 is a detail of the cutterfor removing In detail the mechanismabove outlined z5-the cores. Fig. 7isadetail plan of the mechcomprisesan endless carrier consisting of 75 anism for controlling the rotationof thegeartwo parallel endless chains 1 1, driven by pinion and spindle.Fig.8 isa detail, section spocket-wheels 2 2 on the actuating-shaft 3being made through the frame in a vertical and traveling aroundidle-wheels 4t 4 on the plane transverse to the direction of travel ofshaft 5 at the opposite end of the supportthe carrier. Fig. 9 is aninverted detail plan ing frame or bed, comprising the side bars 6 6 8cof the links and cross-bars of the endless car-' and posts 7 7 7, &c.The two carrying-chains rier and the polygonal collar and the delay- 1 1are connected at intervals by cross-bars surfacesthereon and of thegear-wheel se- 8 8, &c., and on each of the cross-bars there cured onthe spindle. Fig. 10 is asectional is mounted a spindle-9, projectingupward 5 View similar to that shown in Fig. 3, showing .withsufficientrigidity to carry the fruit, as 8 a modification of thedevicefor disengaging hereinafter described. These spindles have theskin. Fig. 11 is a detail of the device for each rigid with them a gear10 on the under disengaging the skin shown in Fig. 10, with a side ofthe cross-bar, the spindles being jourportion of the side barbroken awayto show ualed in said cross-bar and the gear being the passagetheret-hrough of one of the guidepresent for the purpose of rotating thespino arms of the reciprocating carrier. dles in certain of theprocesses, as hereinaf- My improved machine for the purpose terdescribed. The fruit to be prepared is stated comprises an endlesscarrier on which first cleared of the core or hard portion at arecarried spindles adapted to have the fruit the base by suitable toolas,for example,

5 to be treated secured upon them and a sucthe cutter llwhich'is ahollow cone rifted 5 cession-of devices operating upon the fruit at oneside to form the cutting edge 12, such as it is carried through themachine by. such edge being deflected slightly outward, while carrier.First, a succession of water-jets are the other edge 13 is deflectedinward or arranged to act upon the fruit for cleansing chamfered off theouter surface, so that as it; second, a succession of steam-jets arearthe cone rotates it will out out from the fruit 10o at the base orstem end a conical section commonly called the core, each piece of fruitbeing forced onto the conical cutter at that point by the operator. Thefruit thus deprived of the cores is forced onto the upper end of one ofthe spindles as it passes by the operator who stands alongside themachine at the right-hand end, and the speed of the carrier is designedto be such that the operator can be kept busy applying the fruit to thespindles as they pass. A series of nozzles 14 14, 850., connected with awater-supply pipe 15, are arranged to discharge water from both sidesand from above and below onto the fruit as it is carried through themachine,

thus cleansing it exteriorly before it is ex-' posed to any otheraction. A steam-pipe 16 is provided with four horizontal branches 17 17and 18 18, two discharging from below and two from above, one from theforward and one from the rear side of the path of the fruit where it. iscarried on the spindle, so that every part of the fruit is exposed tothe steam as it passes along between the pipes. In addition to thesefour pipes two pipes 19 19 are located very close to the path of thespindle on either side (see Fig. 4E) and discharge the .steam at shorterrange close around the base,

where the skin is more strongly adherent to the flesh, the purpose beingto uniformly loosen the skin over the whole surface. The spindlescarrying the fruit are kept revolving while the fruit is passing thewater and steam jets, this being effected by the gear-pinion 10 engagingthe rack 20, mounted on the inner side of the rear frame-bar. Therackteeth are intermitted at the point reached by the pinion when thefruit has passed the last steam -jet, and a polygonal collar 21, rigidwith the pinion l0, cooperates with a delaytrack 22, parallel with therack 20,to arrest and hold the spindle stationary while it is carriedpast the next element, consisting of the cutters 23 23, which aresharpened disks mounted on shafts 24 24, which extend transversely withrespect to the path of the carrier and are revolved by a belt overpulleys 25 25 at the rear ends of the shafts, respectively. As the fruitpasses the first cutter the skin is slit across the top diametricallywith respect to the fruit, and after passing this cutter thedelay-surface 21 on the polygonal collar 21 passes off the correspondingdelay-seat 22 of the delay-track 22 and the gear 10 comes into mesh withthe teeth 20 on the rack 20, and the spindle is thereby given aquarter-turn and brought to rest by the second delay-surface 21 meetinga corresponding delay-surface 22 on the delay-track 22, and by thecooperation of these delay-surfaces the spindle is held stationary whilethe fruit encounters the second cutter 23, and its skin receives asecond slit at right angles to the first, quartering it at the upperside of the fruit. By the time the fruit has passed this cutter thepolygonal collar 21 runs clear of the delaytrack 22, the pinion 10engages the tooth 20 on the rack and receives a turn of forty-fivedegrees, and a second polygonal collar 26 on the gear 10 comes intocooperation with a third delay-surface 22 alongside the rack 20, and oneof the delay-surfaces 26 on said collar 26 forty-five degrees aroundfrom the lastment-ioned delay-surface 21" brings the spindles to rest,with the angles of the sectoral quarters of the skin pointing,respectively, longitudinally and transversely with respect to thedirection of travel. Here the fruit is in range of action of the wipers27, 28, and 29. These wipers in the form shown in the principal figuresconsist of flexible blades or flaps, preferably of rubber, projectingfrom hubs mounted on shafts 4:1 41, one at each side of the path of thefruit, revolving transversely to the direction of travel of thespindles. These wipers are arranged in pairs, one of each pair being ateach side of the path of the fruit. The blades of the first pair ofwipers 27 are longer than those of the succeeding pair of wipers 28, andthese in turn are longer than those of the last pair 29, the longerwipers being designed to attack the skin near the center at the anglesof the sectoral flaps of skin, so as to engage them at the bestadvantage for peeling them back and exposing them to the action of thesecond wipers, which carry forward the process, and these in turnexposing the skin flaps to the best action of the third shorter wipers,which continue the stripping action until the skin hangs by engagementonly at the base of the fruit or in some instances may be entirelypeeled off. These wipers are sufficiently flexible to operate upon thefruit substantially as shown in Fig. 3-that is, they bend as theyencounter the fruit-yielding to the form of the latter and followingthat form, and so are dragged along the surface and draw the skin backas described. After passing the first half of the width of the firstpair of wipers 27 the spindle receives a turn of ninety degrees in orderto expose to the action of the second half of the width of the firstpair of these wipers the two sectors of the skin which would not beexposed to the action at first position, this ninety-degree turn beingeffected by engagement of the gear-pinion 10 with teeth 20 on the rack,the delay-surface 26 having cleared the cooperating delay-surface 22 intime to permit such change and the second delay-surface 26 on the samecollar coming into engagement with the corresponding delay-surface 22 tohold the fruit stationary while it passes the second half of the widthof the longer wipers. When the fruit has cleared this first pair oflonger wipers, it comes into the range of action of the second pair 28,and the two sectors of skin which were last exposed to the action of thelonger wipers are now exposed to the action of the first half'of thewidth of the intermediate Wipers 28, and passing said first half thespindle receives a quarter-turn by the engagement of the pinion with thegearteeth the last engaged delay-surface 26 having cleared thecorresponding delay-surface of the track 22 to permit this quarterturn,and the next following delay'surface 26 comes into delay relation withthe next delay-surface 22 on the track to hold the fruit stationarywhile the second half of the width of the second pair of wipers 28 actsupon it. Passing this second pair while held non-rotating by thecontinued cooperation of the delay-surfaces 26 and 22 ,the fruit isbrought into range of action of the first half of the width of theshortest wipers, and passing said first half receives a quarter-turn byengagement of the pinion with the gear-teeth 20 and is held stationaryby cooperation of the next delay-surface 26 with the correspondingdelay-surface 22 while the second half of the width of shortest wipersacts upon the othertwo sectors of skin.

Having passed all the wipers, the gear-pinion comes into engagementagain with the continuous portion of the rack 20, and the fruit is keptrevolving While it is carried past the buffing-brushes 30 30, which arerevolved at comparatively high speed and attack the skin at the base ofthe fruit to complete the stripping process. All the wipers and thebrushes are continually exposed to flushingjels of water from thenozzles 31 31, which thus keep them clear of the skin, which mightotherwise become lodged on or adhesive to them, and the fruit is alsowithin the range of the jets and is kept flushed clean, so that when itis carried beyond the brushes it is ready'for delivery, and now passingdown around the axis of the driving-wheel at the end of the carrier itfalls intoa receptacle 32 at the under side.

For driving the wipers, brushes, and cutters described and actuating thecarrier power is communicated, as by a belt 32, over pulley 33 to theshaft 3, which carries the sprocket-wheels 2 2 for actuating the carrierdescribed, and on this shaft are mounted two pulleys 35 35, which bybelts 36 36, having each a quarter-twist in opposite directions, drivethe pulleys 37 37 on the shafts 38 38, which extend longitudinally alongthe front and rear of the machine. On these shafts 38 are small pulleys39 39, which by belts 40 4O rotate at properly slow speed the shafts 4141, on which are mounted the wipers 27, 28, and 29, above described. Onthe same shafts 38 are large pulleys 42 42, which are belted to thesmall pulleys 43 43 on the shafts 44 44, which carry the bufling-brushes30. On the shaft 3 there is a pulley 45, from which a belt 46 passesaround the first pulley 25 on the cutter-shaft, and from a second pulley25 on the same shaft a belt 47 extends to the pulley 25 of the othercutter-shaft, whereby both are driven at the same speed.

A modification of the wipers is shown in Fig. 10. It consists incarrying these wipers on vertically-reciprocating stems instead of uponrotating devices. .In this construction shafts 49 49 are journaled onthe frame of the machine below the carrier and driven by direct belts 5050 from pulleys 51 51 on the shaft 38, corresponding to the pulleys 3737 wipers above described. The Wipers are in pairs, as described, forthe same purpose as a similar arrangement I adopted in the revolvingwipers-that is, so that each piece of fruit may be exposed to the actionof the wipers of each length on all four quarters of the quartered skin.

In practice it commonly happens that the longest wipers complete theprocess of stripping back the skin to the base of the fruit, leavingnothing for the subsequent shorter wipers to do; but their presence isnevertheless desirable, because it frequently happens that the skin isstrongly adherent at the lessripeued spots of the fruit below the topand at different positions in difierent pieces of the fruit, and themost eflective action of the wiper in detaching the skin is performedwhen its end strikes the fruit, and a piece of skin which will not bedetached by the drag of the longer wiper over the adherent spot afterthe wiper is flexed and presses upon the fruit only by its convex flexedsurface and not at the end will be completely detached upon being struckby the end of the shorter wiper before any material fiexu re hasoccurred. This applies equally to the rotating wipers and to thereciprocating device last described.

I claim 1. An apparatus for the purpose indicated, comprising a carrierhaving means at intervals for holding the fruit; means for steaming thefruit to loosen the skin, located along the path of the fruit as it isadvanced by the carrier, and means also located along said path beyondthe steaming devices for mechanically detaching the skin.

2. An apparatus for the purpose described, comprising a carrier havingdevices at intervals for holding the fruit; steaming devices locatedalong the path of the fruit as it is advanced by the carrier, to loosenthe skin; cutters for slitting the skin as the fruit is carried pastthem; wipers for engaging and stripping back the severed sections of theskin, and means beyond the wipers for detaching the skin at the base ofthe fruit.

3. An apparatus for the purpose indicated above, comprising acarrierhaving devices at intervals for holding the fruit; steaming deviceslocated along the path of the fruit as it is advanced by the carrier,for loosening the skin; cutters also located along said path beyond thesteaming devices for slitting the IIO skin into sections; wipers locatedbeyond the cutters for engaging and stripping back the severed sectionsof the skin, and buffingbrushes located beyond the wipers, for detachingthe skin at the base of the fruit.

4. An apparatus for the purpose indicated, comprising a carrier havingspindles at intervals for holding the fruit; means for rotating thespindles as the carrier travels; steaming devices located along the pathof the fruit for loosening the skin, and means beyond the steamingdevices for mechanically detaching the loosened skin.

5. An apparatus for the purpose indicated,comprisingacarrierhaving,atintervals, spindles for holding the fruit;steaming devices located along the path of the fruit as it is advancedby the carrier for loosening the skin, pinions on the spindles,respectively, and a rack fixed along the path of the carrier forengagingthe pinions to rotate the spindles as the carrier travels, therack-teeth being intermitted at points to permit the spindles to rest intheir rotation while the fruit passes the cutter, and means for engagingthe severed sections of the skin beyond the cutter to strip them fromthe fruit.

6. An apparatus for the purpose indicated, comprising an endlesscarrier; spindles mounted at intervals thereon for carrying the fruit;pinions on the spindles and a rack fixed along the path of the carrierfor engaging the pinions to rotate the latter and the fruit as thecarrier moves; steaming devices located along the path of the fruit asit is advanced by the carrier and rotated, for loosening the skin;buifing-brushes located along the path of the fruit beyond the steamingdevices, and means for rotating them in contact with the fruit as itpasses them to detach the loosened skin.

7. An apparatus for the purpose indicated, comprising a carrier havingspindles at intervals for holding the fruit; means for rotating thespindles as the carrier travels; steaming devices located along the pathof the fruit as it is advanced by the carrier for loosening the skin;cutters located beyond the steaming devices for slitting the skin;bufiingbrushes located beyond the cutters,and means for rotating them incontact with the fruit as it passes to detach the severed sections ofthe loosened skin.

8. In an apparatus for the purpose indicated, com prising a carrierhaving spindles at intervals for holding the fruit; a plurality ofcutters located successively along the path of the fruit as it iscarried by the spindles for slitting the skin; a plurality of wiperslocated successively beyond the cutters for engaging the severedsections to strip them from the fruit; pinions on the spindles withdelay-surfaces and a mutilated rack and delay-surfaces along the path ofthe carrier to engage the pinions and cooperate with the delay-surfacesthereof for holding the fruit non-rotating when it passes each cutter,and for turning it between the cutters and for turning it beyond thecutters into position for presenting the severed sections of skin to thewipers, and for holding it non-rotating while passing each wiper, andfor turning it between the wipers.

9. In an apparatus for the purpose indicated, in combination with themeans for carrying the fruit and means for loosening and slitting theskin, a plurality of wipers andmeans for actuating them to cause them toengage the skin, said wipers comprising flexible blades or flaps, suchwipers having successively shorter and shorter blades or flaps to attackthe fruitat different distances from the axis.

10. In an apparatus for the purpose stated, in combination with themeans for carrying the fruit and means for loosening and slitting theskin, wipers for engaging the skin to detach it from the fruit,comprising frames or holders reciprocating transversely with respect tothe path of travel of the fruit, and flexible fiaps orwings carried bysuch frames against the fruit as the frames reciprocate.

11. In an apparatus for the purpose indicated, in combination with acarrier for the fruit, means for loosening and means for subdividing theskin, the wiper-frames extending horizontally on opposite sides of thepath of the fruit, and having their flexible flaps or blades projectingto ward each other across the path of the fruit; shafts parallel withthe direction of travel at the sides thereof, and eccentrics on saidshafts for operating the wiper frames to give them reciprocatingmovement while the fruit passes the flaps.

12. An apparatus forthe purpose indicated, in combination with a carrierhaving at intervals devices for holding the fruit; steaming deviceslocated along the path of the carrier for loosening the skin and bu[Ting-brushes located along said path beyond the steaming devices fordetaching the skin.

13. An apparatus forthe purpose indicated comprising in combination withthe carrier having spindles at intervals for holdingthe fruit, means forrotating the spindles to rotare the fruit thereon, steaming deviceslocated along the path of the fruit as it is advanced by the carrier forloosening the skin, and rotating brushes beyond the steamingdevices foroperating on the fruit to mechanically detach the skin as the fruitrotates and advances.

14:. An apparatus for the purpose indicated, comprising, in combinationwith the carrier having devices at intervals for holding the fruit,steainingdevices located along the path of travel of the fruit forloosening the skin; cutters located beyond the steaming devices forslitting the skin into sections, and wipers beyond the cutters forengaging and stripping off the severed sections of the skin.

15. An apparatus forihepurposeindicated,

comprising, in combination with the carrier having spindles at intervalsfor holding the fruit and means for. rotating the spindles as thecarrier travels, cutters, located in the path of the fruit as it isadvanced by the carrier while so held and rotated for slitting the skinradially asthe fruit passes and wipers located beyond the cutters forengaging and stripping back the severed sections of the skin.

16. An apparatus for the purpose indicated comprising, in combinationwith the carrier having spindles at intervals for holding the fruit,means for rotating the spindles as the carrier travels; steaming deviceslocated along the path of the fruit for loosening the skin; cutterslocated beyond the steaming devices for slitting the skin into sectionsand wipers located beyond the cutters for engaging and stripping backthe severed sections of the skin.

17. An apparatus for the purposeindicated,

comprising, in combination with the carrier having spindles at intervalsfor holding the fruit, means for rotating the spindles as the carriertravels; steaming devices located along the path of the fruit forloosening the skin; cutters located beyond the steaming devices forslitting the skin into sections; means for rotating the spindles duringtheir passage from one cutter to another,and wipers located beyond thecutters for engaging and stripping back the severed sections of theskin. V

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, in the presence of twowitnesses, at Chicago, Illinois, this 12th day of January, A. D. 1903.

WILLIAM J. LATOHFORD.

In presence of- WILLIAM L. GAHAN, MICHAEL J. DOHERTY.

